Fun Ways to Keep Fit

Exercise is essential. It can help reduce your blood pressure, help you to get a good night’s sleep, cut your risks of stroke and heart disease, look after your mental health, ease any stress and keep you looking and feeling great. We all know it. But, it’s not always that easy.

Some people love hitting the gym. They spend hours every week working out and enjoy doing it. Other people, don’t. For many, especially those that lack self-confidence the idea of going to the gym and working out around others, who are much better at it, is nothing short of terrifying. Then, some people have no issue going to the gym. They are quite happy exercising in front of others, but, they find it unbearably dull. Running for 30 minutes on a treadmill or lifting the same weights all of the time bores them to tears. They struggle to stick to a routine that doesn’t excite them and so give up.

If you fall into either of these groups, you may want to forgo the gym and instead find something that you enjoy. Finding an exercise that you enjoy and look forward to doing will make you much more likely to stick to it and to give it your all. Here are some fun ways to keep fit.

Surfing

Surfing can be excellent exercise. You’re burning calories and working your muscles by carrying your board. You get a little cardio workout running into the waves or paddling out in the sea, and you use your core muscles by balancing on the board. You don’t need to be super fit or in shape to get started as it’s not an intense workout. But, over time you will build core strength which will help you’re your posture, make you less likely to have back trouble as you get older and help boost your overall fitness.

It’s also incredibly good fun. If you’ve never surfed before, there are some fantastic beginner’s spots around the country, all offering lessons and equipment hire. Kit yourself out at Billabong clothing online and make sure you get a wetsuit, especially if you don’t fancy waiting for summer to hit the sea.

Dancing

Dancing is one of those great exercises you don’t realize you are doing. Whether you are dancing in a club on a Friday night or spinning your kids around the kitchen, if you are moving, you are exercising. The most vigorously you dance, the more calories you burn. Energetic dance could burn off around 300 calories in 30 minutes, which is about the same as a fast run and more than 30 minutes of swimming.

Shopping

Gone are the days where only women loved to shop. Today, fashion-conscious men enjoy wandering around the shops, trying on new outfits and searching for bargains. A day of flat-out shopping will burn around 1500 calories, give your legs and arms a great workout and leave you with satisfyingly tired feet.

So, if you’ll have some extra Christmas weight to burn, get offline and do your sales shopping in brick and mortar stores.

Running

Running can be boring. Many of us struggle to motivate ourselves to keep going when we’re running on a treadmill with nothing but ourselves in a mirror to look at. But, running outdoors can be much more interesting. Run in a park or along a new route, download a podcast or audiobook that you’ve wanted to listen to and enjoy yourself. Set yourself goals, enjoy the scenery and make the most of getting some time to yourself.

Because running is such a repetitive exercise, your muscles can quickly get used to it. To keep it interesting and continue to get the best results, you need to keep pushing yourself. Introduce hills, interval sprints or keep changing your route to keep things fresh.

Team Sports

Team sports, unless we are good at them, tend to be something we leave behind when we finish school. But, they can be excellent exercise, good fun and a fantastic way to get out there and meet new people.

Think about the sports that you liked when you were younger and look to see if there are any adult teams you could join at nearby sports centers or gyms. If you don’t feel confident enough to join an organized team, get some friends and family members together in your local park and start your own. As long as it’s regular, it will help to keep you fit.

There are many ways that you can have fun exercising. You just need to think about what you enjoy and keep moving.